UCSD didn't get Fletcher transcript either

Mayoral candidate says the records are irrelevant to campaign

San Diego mayoral hopeful Nathan Fletcher, the only major candidate not to release his college transcripts as part of the campaign, also did not submit them as part of his application to be a professor at the University of California San Diego.

The university did not require such documentation, and in fact did not seek third-party recommendations before Fletcher went to work in January, according to documents obtained by U-T Watchdog.

“No outside letters are required,” social sciences dean Jeff Elman wrote in an Oct. 11, 2012, email. “The stature and qualifications of the candidate should be self-evident, given their professional history.”

The U-T sought college transcripts during routine background checks last month. Fletcher’s decision not to release his from California Baptist University has been raised as an issue of transparency by other candidates as recently as this week. The election will be Tuesday.

Fletcher lists himself as "educator/businessman" on the ballot. His campaign said records of his 2005 degree are irrelevant to his qualifications to be mayor, but the Watchdog reviewed UCSD documents to see how relevant his academic background was to his recruitment to teach about political science.

Fletcher is paid $22,400 for the part-time work, and is taking a leave this fall to run for mayor. His hiring was unusual as a “professor of practice” recruited for his world experience, not his academic qualifications. Of 58 faculty and adjunct professors of political science featured on the university website, Fletcher is the only one who lacks a PhD.

Fletcher provided an academic biography and bibliography form to the university in November 2012 with no mention of his college grades.

One matter that was discussed, according to emails, was Fletcher’s political connections to the Jacobs family, whose patriarch, Irwin, founded Qualcomm. After Fletcher left the state assembly a year ago, he was hired as an executive at the company, starting the same month he started at UCSD.

“The other strategy, which I'd like to pursue, is getting Fletcher and [redacted] to help us identify potential donors — people who have served as angels for them in the past — whom we could approach and who might cover their salary,” Elman wrote in an October 2012 email, which was partially blacked out by the university. “Those monies would have to come from development funds (e.g., Friends), or else we'd have to do some laundering.

“However, my guess is that there are people like Irwin Jacobs and others who have contributed to Fletcher [redacted] and they might be willing to provide these monies — or even more.”

Fletcher told the Watchdog on Saturday that he had no idea about any university effort to have him reach out to the Jacobs family.

“Nobody asked me to contact the Jacobs,” Fletcher said.

When asked if he did so, despite not being asked, he answered, “No.”

Fletcher did participate in a university-sponsored video promoting the professor of practice position — which asks for money to fund other, similar posts.

Regardless of how he was hired, Fletcher was a hit with the students, according to an ratemyprofessors.com, Fletcher received 4.7 on a 5-point scale. His best marks were for clarity. One student commented, “He is so charismatic and he knows how to win over the crowd. Funny, personable, and charming, he has it all.”

Another student was less complimentary, writing, “Class is basically ‘Story Time with Professor Fletcher.’ The concepts are VERY basic (role of the media, how to avoid a scandal, different types of campaign ads) and I definitely felt like I already knew a lot through simple common sense.”

Fletcher said he hopes to resume teaching even if he becomes San Diego’s mayor.

“I loved what I did there,” he told the U-T on Saturday. “I worked really hard, I took it seriously. So many of the students, if you engage them, they want to learn.”